Tornado warnings ended just in time for the 9:30 sessions. Was sort of hoping to see my first tornado and still might this afternoon.

Whoa, big rolling thunders interrupting my exposure and lighting class.

If you're attending come by the Expo, booth 219, and say HI!
We have a great deal - half off - deal for Digimarc for Images if you sign up at the booth.

We have a demo of our online service portal ready to show you how to create your own mobile watermarks like the ones we use with the Digimarc Discover iPhone and Android apps.
www.digimarc.com/discover

The Weather Channel's new series, From the Edge With Peter Lik, will use the Media-Sync Platform to enable a second screen experience. 

The iPad app provides fans of the show the ability to interact with exclusive content in real time using your iPad. While you watch each episode you can map Peter’s path as he finds the "perfect shot”, see behind the scenes videos and photos and connect with other fans of the show on Facebook and Twitter.

The Media-Sync platform relies on audio watermarks already inserted into nearly every TV program in the U.S. as part of Nielsen's industry standard TV audience ratings service. 

Media-Sync is a joint venture between The Nielsen Company and Digimarc Corporation.

Disney’s newest cruise ship, The Dream, is banking on interactive content as a major draw this 
coming year. The new cruise ship will include over 20 pieces of “enchanted art” that come to life as people walk by, interacting with passengers in new and creative ways. Most exciting to us here at  Digimarc is the inclusion of a detective style scavenger hunt, which uses barcode technology and  hidden optical devices.

“Barcode technology is used in the game that will employ cruisers to search the decks for a Disney villain who nabbed either pieces of artwork or puppies from 101 Dalmatians.”

The introduction of barcode technology on The Dream comes as Disney attempts to capture the imagination (and dollars) of younger cruise goers with interactive, technologically enchanted artwork.

One downside to barcode technology employed in this fashion is, well, that it’s a barcode in the first place. Nothing takes the magic out of a high seas Disney adventure like a two-year-old holding a barcode up to an image of a beckoning Disney character.

They’ve taken over signs, advertisements and publications in Japan – even used on tombstones (no kidding). We’ve seen more and more trials, pilots and rollouts in many regions, and they are slowly creeping into our favorite newspapers and magazines in the U.S. Yes, I’m talking about barcodes and tags. In recent months I have spoken to many publishers who are clearly desperate to reinvigorate their businesses and are looking for ways to bring together print, web and mobile initiatives. They see the promise of connecting print to the digital world so they can deliver the same interactive, multi-sensory experiences that consumers flock to the web for from magazines and newspapers. And, right now, they see barcodes and tags as the means to this end.

The problem is, every single publisher I’ve spoken with hates the appearance of barcodes as they take up precious real estate on the page. Hence the “love/hate” relationship. When presented with alternatives, like digital watermarking, they light up and want to know more...

During the past dozen years the percentage of American households with DVRs increased from zero to forty percent. Viewers became increasingly accustomed to skipping commercials and viewing shows on their own timetables as opposed to broadcast schedules. The growth intensifies apprehension among sponsors that TV advertising is losing effectiveness. While to date industry efforts to combat the trend have been unproductive, recent developments suggest the tendency can be mitigated, and even reversed. When combined with better ad targeting and commercials permitting viewers to segue into spontaneous online merchandise purchases, the TV industry could advance to a new era of prosperity.

The "trick" is to transform scripted shows into realtime events.

Stop by our exhibit at Photoshop World expo for a chat! We want to meet you and offer a chance to talk directly to us about Digimarc for Images and Digimarc Discover. We're ready to answer questions regarding both, demo each technology and have special pricing available. We can even chat about Photoshop World classes; I know I'll have a few favorites to discuss.

Of course we’ll have swag and contest giveaways for you to enter. Did you know you can get a free pass to the expo if you don’t want to take classes?

Come by and say "Hi!" (Booth 219)

I know it’s not polite to brag, but I’m going to anyway. Recently, Digimarc was selected as one of the top companies to work for in Oregon. We ranked third in the mid-sized company category. That was pretty exciting, but yesterday we found out that we have been selected by Oregon Tech Awards as one of the top three software companies of the year.

This recognition is particularly satisfying as it is for the great work completed on Digimarc Discover.  If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve heard about Digimarc Discover; and hopefully you’ve checked out the new Online Services Portal. As a reminder, you can use the basic functions for FREE (and that’s a very good price) through the end of May. The portal lets you embed a digital watermark into content destined for print. Once printed, you can download one of our mobile apps to detect the embedded watermark, which will then link to the URL you entered. It just takes a few minutes.

We experienced a steady stream of new accounts to date with quite a few new links now in service.  Ben, our product manager, tracks where the new accounts are coming from on a global map.

In just a few short weeks, we have portal users from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Norway, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and all across Europe...

Check out the radio interview from the Beer o' Clock Radio Show on 750 KXL in Portland.  Taplister’s Kerry Finsand talks about Beer West using Digimarc's technology in their latest issue.

In the Beer West Winter Issue, readers can interact with the magazine by reading digital watermarks with their smartphone. As Kerry explained, Beer West readers can now watch videos, answer trivia, participate in polls and design coasters all by reading digital watermarks from the actual magazine.    

Interested in checking out the technology?

1. Download the Digimarc Discover app on iTunes or the Android market.
2. Watch the tutorial video on The Digimarc Discover App showing you how to read digital watermarks.
3. Download demo materials or create your own enhanced print content
4. Launch the Digimarc Discover app.
5. Hold your smartphone still and parallel to the demo materials about 3 – 5” away.
6. Congratulations, you read your first digital watermark with Digimarc Discover!

And you're good!

As previously mentioned, I really like the camera on my iPhone 4. It's great for snapshots and even a little creative work. This is especially true since I always have it with me, which increases the odds that I can take a shot.

I've found myself a big fan of the iPhone's HDR (high dynamic range) function for its camera, which attempts to create a more dynamic image by taking 2 quick shots at different exposures and merging them. It's a bit slow, and depending on the subject matter, doesn't always offer a major improvement over the default JPEG settings, but I leave it on for most shots. (We're seeing more and more HDR photos from Digimarc for Images customers, so I'm not the only one who enjoys this technology.)

There are a couple of iPhone apps that also do multiple exposures and merge. Pro HDR and TrueHDR each cost $1.99 and offer an automatic mode with some manual settings. Neither is any faster than the Apple HDR and both require you to hold the camera in position far longer. Of course, compared to setting up a shot using a DSLR, tripod and then post processing it's like using an old instant Polaroid vs. Kodak Instamatic with a 24hour drive-thru processing service.

If you’re an avid reader of CNET (or just read my friend Matthew’s post), Elinor Mills wrote up a nice article on Digimarc. As with most articles on the Internet these days, the commenters added their own voices to the chat. It’s always good to get real-world feedback, and people’s candor can be refreshing.

Obviously, I'm part of the Digimarc team, but I really do believe in our technology and firmly trust it will become even more widely used in the future. That disclaimer being said, I’d like to quickly add my response to some of the points raised from this healthy discussion and compare digital watermarking to:

• Google Goggles
• RFID
• Itself!